Hidden Star
by wicherwill
Summary: A brown-haired, green eyed girl named Chiaki by an orphanage appears in Tomoeda, and is taken in by Syaoran when she has a fever. He is searching for answers, and believes a bell may have something to do with everything. Finished!
1. Chapter 1

A girl in a ragged, cheap off-white dress staggered down the road. She was thin, dirty, and beaten up, but she radiated a long lost aura of cheerfulness and contentment. For surely, there could be no happiness in this girl's life, for her green eyes were dull, listless, with a life of drudgery omnipresent.

The orphanage that found her had named her Arihyoshi Chiaki. Both were from a list; she could not remember anything, yet she was already eleven years when she was found. Found, on this same road, wearing an absurd outfit, unable to remember anything. 

Now she was fourteen, and she was back on the road. 

Chiaki knew this road; she knew this town. This is Tomoeda, said the voice that she heard in her head. The ladies at the orphanage were convinced that she was crazy. They were not eager to let her go; she was a strong, agile worker who did not get into fights.

It started to rain. Chiaki shivered, as the thin dress she wore did little to warm her. She walked quicker, an unconscious part of her mind steering her in the right direction. She came upon a huge blue figure. She quickened her pace, seeking refuge in the space underneath. Clutching her pendant for comfort, she fell asleep.

A boy with unruly amber hair swung his sword, severing the dummy's head. He stopped, panting, as his sword disappeared back into its amulet state.

Li Syaoran was a boy of few words. He remained silent as his teacher, Wei-san, took away the pieces of the dummy. 

His mother watched, musing silently. He had not been always like this, she could swear. She could faintly remember a young warrior, well on the path to joining emotions with training. And then…

Then there were solid memories, memories she could taste; but she still thought of them as fake, as a dream. 

The auburn-haired boy walked over to his mother.

"Mother, I need to go to Japan. To Tomoeda."

"Yes, you may go."

Japan…

Tomoeda…

Places she could swear were as integrated with her son as his heart was.

  
"Xiao-Lang?"

"Yes, mother?"

"Watch out for your heart's star-"

"For it shall take me very far. Hai, oka-san."

A little poem, in English. Whispered to her by a young boy's voice. What is had to do with everything, she had yet to know.

AN: Unless you are as clueless as a block of wood/are like me, you should know who each of the characters whose names are not mentioned are. The why and whens will be discovered later. Preview:

Syaoran quickened his pace. His breath started to come in jagged bursts as he willed his legs to keep moving up the steep steps, to the top of the Tokyo Tower. He came to the door. Bursting through, he spotted the girl.

_"Omae…"_

_"Hai?"_

_"Doushite? Doushite end your life like this?"_

_"Who would care? The world holds nothing for me." And with that, she jumped._

_"IIE!" Syaoran grabbed the girl's hand, "Give me your other hand!"_

_"Doushite?" She squirmed, and he lost his grip. He watched in horror as the girl fell, in slow motion, down, a smile on her lips, her eyes closed**…**_

****

DA DA DA DUM… 


	2. Chapter 2

The sun hit Chiaki's eyes, making her turn over. As it continued to reflect upon her, she moaned and sat up. Her muscles protested, stiff and sore from her cramped position. She slowly made her way outside. 

The day was dewy and cold, from the previous night's rainfall. She yawned. Chiaki hated getting up in the morning. She stretched, then started out with a brisk pace, going somewhere, but yet nowhere she could recall. 

She reached a shrine. Stepping inside, she was immediately spotted by a caretaker, hired from the nearby college.

"Hey you, get out!" 

Chiaki ran out, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. There was no kindness here, as she had imagined. She could not go back, to that hateful orphanage. There was nothing left.

She started out again, this time running. She was a surprisingly good runner, for all the training she had received.

She was headed in a direction towards something. A tall tower. From which no one would survive a fall.

Sitting down outside the tower, she waited for nightfall.

Syaoran headed down the road with Wei, towards an apartment block. Once inside, he sat on his bed. 

Why had he come here?

He had no idea. Just that he must come to Japan, if it was the last thing he did. 

"I'm going out, Wei-san!"

"Fine, Li-sama. Be back before nightfall!"

Syaoran headed down the street at a run, watching the people as he went by. He looked down at the paper he was holding. A few Chinese characters were there, the symbols for 'moon' and 'shrine'. His prophecy had told about them. Now he was determined to find this moon shrine.

Arriving in front of a moon shrine, he walked in. 'Tskumine Shrine' said the sign. There was no one there, except for a light in a house located on the property. Syaoran looked around, and then went in.

It was a small, one room with an altar, upon which was a box. By some force, Syaoran went and kneeled by it. Opening it slowly, he found a strange object. He picked it up.

It was a bell, its ring loud and clear. Syaoran felt as if a tight wrap around him had been loosened. Faint wisps of thought came to him, as he held on to the bell.

A tower.

A man in a white robe.

A tall red-haired lady who was not to be trusted.

A single cherry blossom, wrapped tightly in black. 

Syaoran's head spun, as callused hands pried the bell from his hands. A pair of cool hands grasped his head, comforting him.

"What did you see?" said a voice.

"Cherry blossom…trapped…memories…"

"Cherry blossoms?" said the voice, as if boys holding bells and fainting was a normal occurrence.

"Hai…" Syaoran turned around to face the speaker. It was an old woman, with red hair and dark eyes.

"You are troubled within, aren't you, young boy?"

"Who are you?"

"Mitsuki Kaho. That bell belonged to my daughter."

"Hontou? Where is she? Can I meet her?"

"She…she left us a while ago…"

"Gomen nasai."

"Iie, it was not your fault. A tragic accident…"

"So this bell was hers? Did she ever…see things with it?"

"Iie…she had magic, magic of the Moon. She knew much, things she should not have had the burden of." The lady looked away from the young boy. Many things, she mused. 

~*flashback*~

*sound of ambulances, and flashing lights* 

"Oka-san…"

"Hai, Kaho-chan?"

"The bell…must not die…sakura needs it…"

"Daijoubu, Kaho-chan. Daijoubu desku wa."

"Iie…she…will fail…chaos…"

*Younger Kaho stays still for a second, as if hearing something.*

"Hai. Daijoubu desku wa, Eriol," turning to her mother, Kaho looked at her with a serious look, "Oka-san, my bell…"

"Hai?"

"When…someone can…make ring…chosen to…"

"Kaho-chan? Kaho! KAHO!"

~*end flashback*~

"The bell is yours, young one. I do not know what you are to do with it, but it is yours."

"Nani?"

"Do not question fate! Go now!"

Syaoran quickly carried the box outside the shrine. He wanted to get rid of it, to toss it in the road and never see it again. It scared him, and that scared him even more. 

He walked back to his house, nearly running. He deposited the bell with Wei, muttering something, then walked back outside. 

He had to get to the tower that he had seen in his vision, the one in the town. Tokyo Tower, said Wei. 

Upon reaching there, he looked at it. 

*shing*

A full moon…

A huge lion…

A girl in a pink dress…

A figure tumbling on the platform…

*end flashback thing*

Shaking his head, Syaoran realized that there was a figure on the platform. A figure in a dress about to hurl  herself over the edge.

Without thinking, he ran towards the Tower, his mind one-track: _Stop her!_

Syaoran quickened his pace. His breath started to come in jagged bursts as he willed his legs to keep moving up the steep steps, to the top of the Tokyo Tower. He came to the door. Bursting through, he spotted the girl.

"Omae…"

"Hai?"

"Doushite? Doushite end your life like this?"

"Who would care? The world holds nothing for me." And with that, she jumped.

"IIE!" Syaoran grabbed the girl's hand, "Give me your other hand!"

"Doushite?" She squirmed, and he lost his grip. He watched in horror as the girl fell, in slow motion, down, a smile on her lips, her eyes closed…


	3. Chapter 3

Syaoran watched in horror as the girl fell, over and over, in his vision. From somewhere, a feminine form with wild black hair shot down the building, glowing eerily as she sought her prey. Syaoran shook his head to clear the image, running down the steps. Japan was haunting him, driving him insane.

He reached the bottom. There…there she was. A crumpled figure. He forced himself to walk towards her body. The dead needed proper respect. He looked at the figure. Pale skin contrasted softly with honey brown hair, cut short to her chin. Suddenly her eyes fluttered open. Emerald green, and tinged with confusion, she looked at Syaoran.

"Are we in Heaven? Did you kill yourself too?"

"Iie…you are still in Japan…"

"I…I'm not dead?" Syaoran shook his head, "Then the lady wasn't an angel?" Syaoran looked at her strangely. She must have hit her head somewhere, he mused. 

She shivered and sneezed, diverting Syaoran's attention.

"You are sick." Not a question. A statement. Chiaki nodded, terrified. What would this mean looking boy do to her? "I'm taking you to my house. You know that you will be dead soon, if you don't get inside?" Chiaki barely heard the statement, already nodding off into a feverish sleep. 

At his house, Syaoran laid the girl down on his bed. She relaxed a bit, snuggling into the soft covers. Syaoran left her. Where was Wei?

A note on the refrigerator said that he would be back in a few days, since Li-sama needed him to go see someone. *So I am alone in the house with a sick girl. Perfect.* He grabbed a snack and went to the living room. He bounced onto the couch, upon which the bell was. As the box bounced, the bell rang again.

Kerberos…

Yue…

Final Judgement…

In the next room, Chiaki moaned slightly as someone moved in the room. Suddenly, the clear sound of a bell rang through the house.

A huge yellow lion…

Cards…

A boy with amber eyes…kind, warm, friendly amber eyes…

A man with cold eyes… fading away as green vines closed over her, choking her until it was hard for her to breathe…

Chiaki screamed, as she struggled to pull off the alien sheets covering her, which were smothering her. Cool hands steadied her, calmed her, until she sat up, breathing heavily. She turned. There was the boy… She screamed again, tears starting to run from her eyes.

Syaoran ran to the next room as soon as he heard her scream. She looked like she was having a convulsion, but he realized that she was actually only trapped in her sheets. He soothed her, and then waited for her to sit up. He shrank from her, as she screamed once again.

"Hey, hey! Calm down. Don't cry." Chiaki calmed down. She must have hallucinated or something…this boy did not have the warm, friendly eyes that she had seen; his eyes were cold and foreboding.

"I…saw things…people…"

"When?"

"After the bell was rung…"

"After…after the bell was rung?"

"Un." Syaoran turned back to the living room. Fingering the box, he flipped it open. The bell lay there, polished with its symbols. Carrying it back carefully, he showed it to the girl. 

"This bell…" Syaoran stopped, transfixed from what he saw happening. The air around the girl seemed to shimmer, then go solid. Looking closer, he accidentally rang the bell again. Stopping it in mid-ring, he looked at her.

A black wrapping seemed to appear around Chiaki like a second skin when she heard the ring. It seemed to vibrate in and around her, reaching deep into her being, as if looking for something. Suddenly, the black binding seemed to quiver, as if it wanted to rip free from her. She gasped; she couldn't let it go! It was part of her, she couldn't change that. Pain coursed through her body as the binding became a double-sided enigma, struggling to go; yet staying part of her. She cried out in pure agony as parts began to tear off her skin.

Syaoran stood transfixed. Mists of memories, long thought of as dreams, surfaced to lie within his active thoughts. 

~*flashback*~

His mother stood in front of him, a black stone in each of her hands.

"Xiao Lang, which has the more powerful spell placed upon it?" He concentrated for less than a second; only one had any aura.

"That one."

"Positive?"

"Yes, mother."

"Then watch, Xiao Lang." His mother pulled out her fan. He gasped. She never used the fan, except for fortune telling and the most powerful of spells. She held it out in front of her, concentrating hard. Suddenly she darted forward, the fan outstretched. A shimmer, a burst, and something flew off the second rock. Now it shone brightly, its power apparent.  

"You see, Xiao Lang, magical strength lies not only in what appears, but also on what doesn't. A sealing spell can seal anything, from magic to memories. They are the most powerful spells anyone can accomplish. The small one you have just seen has drained me, sorceress that I am."

"So that was the most powerful spell? I could do that!" His mother suddenly got up from her chair and knelt down, level with his eyes.

"No, Xiao Lang. The most powerful spell…can only be attempted by the best of us. And only once, by Clow Reed."

"What does that do?"

"Seals away everything. Your memories, magic, your life. Sealing someone like that is placing a bind on them. Taking one off is a risky step. If the sealed person has no wish to be unsealed, the results are catastrophic. The person is destroyed from the inside out. Do not take me lightly, son." Syaoran looked up. Son, she had said. Son.

~*end flashback*~

Syaoran looked at the girl. The bell…it was made to get rid of this girl's constraints. She did not want to. Demo…this girl's unsealing would answer his questions, defog the mystery of his life. He lowered the bell. He couldn't! He muffled it and began to run, run to the tower and destroy the bell.

Chiaki calmed down when the boy put down the bell. She was about to question him, when he ran out of the room. She ran after him.

At the tower, Syaoran stopped to catch his breath. 

::You must do it!::

Syaoran looked around. Who was there?

::You must ring the bell, free her!::

Syaoran distrusted the voice. He looked around once more.

"Who are you?"

::I am…I am the previous owner of the bell::

"She's…she's dead…"

::True::

"So…you're her ghost?"

::Hai. Syaoran, listen to me. The world rests on your shoulders! You must free her!::

"Doushite?"

::You will find out… Trust me, this once, Syaoran…::

The voice disappeared. A picture of a tall, red-haired lady came to his vision, smiling at him. 

::It was my fault…I am the one who died. You can reset the balance!::

"I don't trust you." He said blatantly.

The apparition smiled. ::Trust me, just this once, Syaoran. Trust me.:: She disappeared. 

Syaoran's last doubts cleared away. He must free the girl.  


	4. Chapter 4

Chiaki panted, coming to a stop a bit away from the boy. He was standing there, staring at the horrid bell. He looked up, spotting her. She shrank all of a sudden; something was wrong…

Syaoran spotted the girl. His eyes glazed over, an almost maniacal look in them. He lifted the bell, hardening his heart. He shook it, giving it one loud, full sound.

Chiaki shuddered as the black skin appeared once again. It seemed to disappear inside her, searching her. All at once, it glowed and reappeared. In one fluid motion, it lifted off her skin, forming a cocoon around the young woman. Chiaki stared at it with a crazed kind of joy. She wanted to grab it, to wrap it around herself and let it comfort her. She never wanted to go back, back outside her bubble to the hateful world she had lived in.

{Why was it so hateful?}, a voice softly resonated. 

Chiaki thought. 

{Because…}

{Why?}

{Because there was no…no…}

{No? No what?}

{No…love.}

{That is yours for the changing. Just open your heart…and listen once again.}

Chiaki's eyes flew open, as she realized what inhabited her soul and heart. A black shadow, her own negativity, had surrounded the once joyous girl. She knew now that she had to let go. And with that thought, she willed herself to let go.

A pain like she had never experienced shot through every inch of her body, making her cry out in pain. She closed her eyes. 

{Stop, make it stop!}

Syaoran looked on in horror as the girl became enveloped in light. Suddenly, a glyph appeared on the ground, one that he could vaguely remember. 

The light surrounding the girl faded away. Instead of a tattered white dress, a girl in an outrageous costume stood with her head bowed. She looked up, towards the tower.

"Yueh! Come forth once again!"

A light emitted from the moon. There stood in front of him the man in white he saw.

"Impossible! You were sealed over three years ago!"

"Clow Reed knew that I would fail. So he created a bell for a young priestess, to help me. With her dead, I failed. But now, I summon you once again, to re-battle!"

"You will only lose again."

"I would not be so sure… 

'Key which hides the power of my star,

reveal thy true form before me! 

Release!'

"Windy! Form a chain and trap Yueh!"

Syaoran continued to watch as the man fell, trapped by this girl's powers. Who was she? He had yet to see her face. 

The battle ended, with the girl victorious. She turned around from her high ledge on the tower, spotting Syaoran. She flew down, then began to slowly jog towards him. As she got closer, he saw her face, and her eyes. He looked within them and…

~*flashback*~

"I, Yueh the judge, proclaim Kinomoto Sakura inadequate to be the Master of the Clow. The cards will be sealed."

"No! Sakura!"

"What will happen, Cerberus?"

"When the Clow Cards' seal is broken-"

"Disaster will befall the world!"

"The disaster that will befall the world…to protect the Clow Cards, and their former masters, anyone who was affected by the Clow Cards will lose their memories…of everything that they hold dearly…Cerberus, you chose wrongly. This girl is no match for me."

"I…cannot fail…must try…daijoubu desku wa!" *sounds of straining*

"You have courage…or is it foolishness? Baka…the disaster will befall the world. The only person who can beat me is Clow Reed himself."

*lights wash over the whole scene. Everyone disappears*

~*end flashback*~

{I know that girl} Syaoran heard a name, hidden in his depths, coming, forcing itself to be said. 

"Sakura." 

And with that, all the memories that had been sealed came rushing back to him, as he took the girl he loved into his hands.

~*^The End^*~


End file.
